Tales From the Front by Cheryl Lavin

Dear Cheryl,

I met Sunny when I was 24 and she was 28. I couldn't commit to her because I was just starting a business and needed to live at home. (I've suffered from major anxiety and panic disorder most of my adult life, and have recently been diagnosed as bipolar.) We dated for a year, then she got fed up and moved away.

By the time I was 28, I had a successful business and $500,000 in savings. I was making money hand over fist between my business and the tech boom. Then I saved $1,000,000, but I started to panic, thinking I didn't have enough. When the market started to go bad, I moved back in with my folks hoping things would turn around, but they got worse.

I tried to get back with Sunny, but she had met someone else. I lost my business, and my portfolio was gone. I couldn't deal with it and checked into a mental hospital.

Eventually, I moved to Hawaii. A mutual friend suggested I call her. We dated long distance for several years. By this time, I was in my late 40s. I moved to New York to be with her. I had $600,000. Then the recession hit. Like an idiot, I had my money in stocks. (I've always relied on the market so I don't have to work at some crumby $11 an hour job.) This was in 2008. I freaked out. I was depressed and panicky again.

Needless to say, Sunny was really angry, but she hung in there. She said she'd give me a year to get better. By February 2009, I was depressed again. On our vacation, I slept pretty much the entire time. I felt so ashamed when we got back. Here I was again without a job. I returned again, like a baby, to my mom's house.

That was the last straw for Sunny.

I guess I'm a loser. I can't take care of myself. How can I expect to take care of her?

I'm back with my mom in Cape Cod, Mass. There's not much work here, not that I'm qualified for much. I'm 52 and making $10 an hour working at CVS. How can I face the future without Sunny? She's my soul mate. — Lost Without Her

Dear Lost Without Her,

It sounds like you've never really come to grips with your serious mental disorders. It might be comforting to focus on Sunny and the stock market, but they're not the real issue.

The real issue is how do you live the best, healthiest, most grounded life you can despite your mental problems. In order to do that, you need the help of good doctors who can treat you with therapy and the proper medication, and monitor your progress.

Good luck, and stay in touch.

THE BAPTIST AND THE JEW, PART II

Readers, Concerned Father recently wrote in asking about the chances of a successful marriage between his Baptist son and his Jewish wife.

I pointed out a few of the similarities between the two religions. One of my readers said I should have also pointed out that Jesus was a Jew.

Gloria: "There are too many gentiles, including some highly educated ones, who don't know that important fact. They believe Christ was a Christian. They don't realize that Christianity didn't exist until after Christ's death. "I suspect if more anti-Semites knew that Christ was born a Jew and died a Jew, there'd be less anti-Semitism in the world."

Got a problem? Send it to cheryllavin@aol.com. You can visit her blog at www.talesfromthefront.com. To find out more about Cheryl Lavin, and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit www.creators.com.

COPYRIGHT 2009 CREATORS.COM